Child&#39;s play raft



July 19, 1938. G, A. GRANT Er AL 2,124,062

CHILD s PLAY RAFT Filed April 19. 1937 RNEY.

- Parenteel July 19, 193e CHILDS PLAY RAFT George A. Grant and Wells F.Le Moine, Oakland, Calif.

Application April 19, 1937, Serial No. 137,752

3 Claims.

The invention relates to devices such as amusement and swimminginstruction float used to support and iioat persons, and particularlychildren, in water.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which, while aiording a body iioat for a child, will at thesame time enable and afford a partial submergence of the lower portionof the childs body and up to substantially the waist and chest portionsoi' the childs body and leave the childs legs free in the water topropel the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which is so l5 arranged as to afford, when in use, for aweight distribution having the center of gravity of the child and thedevice positioned below the plane of support of the device in the waterso that there will be no possibility of the child overturning the devicewhen afloat in the water.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter labove wherein the utmost safety for the protection of thechild is a'orded by insuring a proper flotative buoyancy of the deviceand in safeguarding and preventing an accidental dislodgment of thechild from the device.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the fore- 3@ going, will be set forth in the followingdescription of the preferred form of the invention which is illustratedin the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specication. it isto be u nderstood, however, that variations in the showing made by thesaid drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure l is a plan view of a childs play raft constructed in accordancewith the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view oi' the raft and istaken substantially on the plane of line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the raft.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially onthe plane of line`4-d of Figure l.

The childs play raft illustrated in the `accom-- panying drawingconsists of a oat 6 having transversely spaced water buoyant portionsadapted for oating on a body of water, or the like, and a body support lhere shown in the form of a seat which is carried by the oat in spaced55 balanced relation between the water buoyant portions of the i'ioatfor supporting a child in the water. More specifically, the floatcomprises 'a body or frame member 8 which is formed with an open centralportion 9 and about the outer periphery II of which is secured, as bymeans of a 5 plurality of brackets I2, an air tube I3 which, inaccordance with the present raft, provides a majority of the buoyancy ofthe raft. Preferably, the construction is such as to permit the readyremoval of the tube I3 when desired for repair l0 or replacement andto'this end the brackets I2 are so arranged as toprovide a horizontalout- Wardly opening channel for the inner periphery of the tube, (seeFigures 2 and 3) whereby the tube will be normally securely held inplace, but 15 may be removed by stretching, where the material of thetube will so permit, to remove the same from the brackets l2. In thepresent design the tube I3 is made of rubber and is of the type used forinner tubes for pneumatic tires and is provided with an air lling stemI4 which may be bent and engaged by a side arm portion I 6 of one of thebrackets i2. In the present showing the brackets I2 each consist of apair of metal strips ll and I8 which are secured as by bolts I9 to the25 upper and lower sides 2| and 22 of the member 8 adjacent itsperiphery II, the strips I'I and i8 being extended beyond the peripheryIl and being bent away from each other to provide a pocket or channelfor the receipt oi' the inner pe- 30 riphery of the tube I3.

As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the seat l is mounted in the openportion 9 of the member 8 and is preferably supported below the plane ofthe member 8 and the plane of sup- 35 port of the raft in the water soas to cause a submersion of the lower portion of the childs body in theWater. As here shown, the seat 'l is suspended from the member 8 bymeans of a plurality of straps 23 which position the seat 40 centrallyof the opening 9 and allows the child to straddle the seat with his legsand leaves the childs body completely open to the water. Preferably, thestraps 23 are made of a flexible material, such as, fabric, so as toallow the child some relative movement with respect toI the raft as awhole. Also, as will be noticed, the seat supports the child only in thecrotch and leaves the childs legs entirely free and submerged in thewater and unrestricted in their movements for kicking or for churning inthe water and in propelling the raft. As an important safety feature ofthe raft, the seat 'i is disposed by a distance below the member 8leaving the childs arms and shoulders entirely above the top sideimportant my feature of the -device the member l is preferably formedout of some w'ater buoyant material, such as aleahgeortallure olthetubeIl.theraftw1ll, regardless of all else, have suillcient buoyancytonunaln afloat andsateluardachildusinxthe ame.

Another important feature ot the present dersttwithotherobiects.

Weclaim: hechildsplaydevioedthecharaeterdemembers positioned on the raitimtothetrontandrearoisaidopeninz viding guards to prevent the child fromsitand a srippins Y clonal A GRANT.

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